Published 19:42 IST, December 24th 2019
Gautam Gambhir picks his World XI; MSD excluded, 2 surprise players make it to his list
Gautam Gambhir took to microblogging website Twitter to name his squad of eleven that stood out from the rest for him which included Virat Kohli and Steve Smith
As the year comes to an end and several associations and individuals pick their best eleven of 2019, India's former opener and World Cup hero, Gautam Gambhir also picked his best. The current BJP MP from East Delhi took to microblogging website Twitter to name his squad of eleven that stood out from the rest for him. However, unlike others, Gambhir's eleven consisted of a twist in the tale as the veteran batsman picked two unusual names in his squad.
Gambhir's surprise pick for World XI
Gautam Gambhir who starred in the 2011 World Cup final which India won, picked India's current ace opener Rohit Sharma and New Zealand's Tom Latham as his opening batsman. For the number three and four positions, he picked two of the best four in the world currently, Steve Smith and Indian skipper Virat Kohli, respectively. Gambhir named New Zealand skipper, Kane Williamson as the captain of his squad.
The cricketer-turned-politician named two fictional characters in his squad and left out former India skipper MS Dhoni. Leading characters of a web series 'Inside Edge', Arvind Vashisht and Vayu Raghavan were the two fictional characters in Gambhir's squad. Here is Gambhir's pick for the World XI:
Australia's Test XI
The number one ranked Test and ODI batsman, Virat Kohli was named as the skipper of Cricket Australia's Test team of the decade, the only Indian to find a spot in the side. Kohli's rise in Test cricket saw him enjoy a fierce rivalry with Steve Smith, Joe Root, Kane Williamson, David Warner and prevail over them, finishing the decade on top of the rankings for the batsmen in Tests. However, a surprise inclusion in the list was South Africa's Ab De Villiers, who was named as the wicketkeeper for the side.
Cricket Australia's ODI XI of the decade
Cricket Australia named their ODI team of the decade and there were no surprises when one saw MS Dhoni as the captain and wicketkeeper of the side. Apart from Dhoni, Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma found themselves places in the team while banned Bangladesh all-rounder Shakib al Hasan, Afghanistan's Rashid Khan, Sri Lanka's Malinga are the other sub-continental players who made it to the list.
Updated 22:04 IST, December 24th 2019